1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to racks for pipette tips and, more particularly, is concerned with a deep well rack assembly for pipette tips and the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A pipette is an instrument which is commonly used in laboratory settings. Pipettes are typically used in combination with separate tips. Pipette tips are often disposable. Various racks have been developed over the years which organize disposable pipette tips such that the tips can be efficiently placed on pipettes. The racks generally have a support structure which includes a tray defining a plurality of spaced apart holes which are adapted to retain the pipette tips therein. The racks also have a lid which is either hinged to or lifts off the support structure. Pipette tips are generally captured in the holes such that a smaller portion of the axial length of each tip is disposed above and a larger portion of the axial length of each tip is disposed below the tray. The extension of each tip above an upper surface of the tray, however, may cause inefficiencies in packaging the tips and may bring the tips in close proximity to one another such that cross contamination of adjacent tips may occur.
Representative examples of prior art pipette tip racks and the like are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,494,201 to Roach, U.S. Pat. No. 3,853,217 to Scordato et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,154,795 to Thorne, U.S. Pat. No. 4,577,760 to Rainin et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,232,669 to Pardinas, U.S. Pat. No. 5,285,896 to Salatka et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,366,088 to Hill et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,392,914 to Lemieux et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,642,816 to Kelly et al., U.S. Des. Pat. No. 282,208 to Lowry and U.K. Pat. No. 2,023,103 to Cranston et al. While these prior art racks may appear to be satisfactory for the specific purposes for which they were designed, none of them seem to provide an optimum solution for the problems at hand.
Consequently, a need still exists for an assembly which will overcome the aforementioned problems in the prior art without introducing any new problems in place thereof.